Yes this is a gratuitous plug for the game, because if you try it for free here Star Wars Galaxies TrySWG and end up liking it enough to buy it, you get a nifty device that gives 15 charges of double XP for 30 minutes per charge, and I get some groovy, ultra rare paintings to hang in my house.

Save the Double XP device for later levels when it will really come in handy is my advice, and start your character on Bria server so I can give you any help you need (and so I can get muh loots )

In game I'm Brugan Lonestar on the Bria server, I'm a founding member of one of the biggest active guilds on the most populated server in the game, If you join up I'll be able to help you out with gear, credits and housing, and even ships if you like flying. If you want to join our guild, we have 2 cities and a Vent server, lots of experienced players to answer questions and dozens of master pilots to help you in space.

This recruitment drive ends February 1st, and I only need to get 4 people in as there's only 4 rewards that are no-trade and can only be gotten once.

Ok here's the deal on the buddy acct vs. the paid acct and associated rewards.

If you go with the buddy account it costs you nothing but the subscription fee AFTER the 14 day free trial period.

There is no activation fee and you don't have to "purchase" the game. At the end of your 14 day trial, just plug in your CC # and you will only be charged the $14.95 monthly subscription fee, that's it.
TO GET THE GAME FREE, YOU MUST HAVE NO PREVIOUS INSTALLATION OF SW:G, YOU MUST START A NEW ACCOUNT AND YOU MUST DOWNLOAD BOTH FILES FROM THE SITE LISTED IN THE OP. IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY INSTALLED SWG YOU WILL HAVE TO UNINSTALL IT AND THEN DOUBLECHECK THE SWG FOLDER, DELETE IT.

If you want the Instant Travel Vehicle and the AT-RT vehicle, you must purchase the 20$ Direct 2 Drive version of the game, but you will get no XP token and I get shafted on the Buddy Reward.

You can however, go with the Buddy account from the link in the OP, then add the Complete Adventures from Direct 2 Drive later. When you do, it will give you the AT-RT, the Naboo ITV, access to Kashyykk (Wookie Homeworld) with quests for lvl 50-90, and Mustafar with Elite Quests for lvl 75-90.

You can reach lvl 90 without these 2 worlds FYI, and all the new content from the last 2 years is free and based on the "Core Worlds".

So basically, start with this free account, if you like the game enough by the time you reach the upper levels and want to add those 2 worlds it's $20 for the expansions, a rare AT-RT Vehicle and the silver Naboo Instant Travel Vehicle.

These are the specific files you need, there are 2 files, you need both.
ht tp://download.station.sony.com/patch/download/swg/data3.cab
and this:
ht tp://download.station.sony.com/patch/download/swg/SWG14DayTrial.exe

Place them both in c:\Program Files\SWG (or whatever destination folder you want) this will be your install folder!!! DO NOT RUN THIS FROM A DESKTOP FOLDER.

Run the EXE.

Anyways, the last 2 years have seen a lot of extensive changes and by January we will be getting the first full space extension of the game since Jump To Lightspeed was launched.

The ground game now consists of:

Spies (sneakeh)

Jedi (lolglowstickuberslol)

Commandos (Jedi go BOOM!)

Bounty Hunters (with player bounties :devil: )

Smugglers (with smuggling missions, sort- of)

Officers (TK-421 why aren't you at your post, ******?)

Medics (now bend over aaaaand cough...)

You can also take any one of these professions, and trade in its profession specific abilities for "Beast Master" abilities, effectively making it the old "Creature Handler" profession. The new Beast Master is 10x what the old Creature Handler was, it's much more diverse and WAY more fun.

Also for those that liked the old Teras Kasi (I kno kung fool) the Entertainer profession has been granted those combat abilities, if you chose to trade in your dancing/buffing abilities. They have some less gay sounding titles to go along with their new combat status, and they can wear any armor type.

If you're into crafting, there are 4 different types if "Traders" you can choose and crafting is about the same as it always was, just the craftable items are different.

For those that don't know, you can be a:

Human

Twi'Lek (Sexy head slugs?)

Rodian

Ithorian

Mon Calamari (IT'S A TARP!!)

Sullustan

Bothan (lolfurrylol )

Trandoshan

Zabrak

Wookiee (Graaaaaaowww)

Levels range from 1-90 and leveling is not nearly the grind of some MMOs. There is a new "Legacy" quest series that will get you to lvl 50-55 usually within 1-2 weeks for the casual player. All the theme parks like Jabbas Palace and the Rebel Base have been redone and have new quests and better rewards.

For the old X-Wing/Tie Fighter/Xvs.T lovers, Jump To Lightspeed is now included free with the ground game. The new massive expansion has already hit Test Center and looks AWESOME. New 6 turret Gunboats, a boardable space station with master level quests and the ability to gain better equipment as well as the addidion of tier 6-10 NPCs to space makes everything much more challenging and much more rewarding.

The game is effectively back to what it was Pre-NGE but much improved over the CU era game. Older players will recognize a lot and should feel right at home. There's some UI changes and a lot more customization than ever before, so if things feel a little wierd go into your options and you'll find everything you need to set things up the way you want.

Finally, DO NOT BYPASS THE TUTORIAL!!! It is totally worth it and takes 1 evening to complete, when you leave you should be like lvl 10 with some decent creds, clothing and weapons.

SCREEN RESOLUTION AND GRAPHICS CARD SETTINGS
On the launchpad there's a button for "Game Options", resolution and graphics card settings are there, everything else is in game.

The entire UI, the keymapping, the way you target, the way you attack, is completely customizable, Open your options screen ingame and look through all the stuff there and just check/uncheck how you want it to work.

If you're interested and you like the game and end up coming to Bria (you wouldn't be thinking about going somewhere else, would you? ) then post your in-game name here and then contact Brugan in-game.